U.T. Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas requests continued supported for a graduate and post-graduate Molecular Microbiology Training Program (MMTP). A particularly attractive feature of this MMTP is its departure from conventional program- or departmental-based training to an interdisciplinary program that maintains a microbiology orientation while, at the same time, broadens the scope of the training mission to include many other aspects of molecular and cell biology. The diverse backgrounds of the 24 trainers, comprised of a core group of established investigators with accomplished records and an expanding new faculty, represent interdisciplinary research programs bound by the common theme of molecular and cellular microbiology. The training faculty emanate from nine different medical school departments/centers. The overall objective is to train students and post-doctoral fellows for research careers in the molecular basis of microbial pathogenesis, cellular microbiology, host defense mechanisms, vaccine development, and other related areas. The MMTP requests continued funding for 5 pre-doctoral and 2 post-doctoral positions each year. In general, activities towards the Ph.D. degree include (1) required course work supplemented with multidisciplinary electives, (2) special training in the ethical conduct of science, (3) attendance at and participation in seminars, research forums, socials, and journal clubs, (4) achievement on a "grant application" style qualifying examination, and (5) intensive research culminating in the doctoral dissertation. Post-doctoral fellows will enroll in a "Certificate Program" and will be provided the opportunity to consolidate basic skills, develop independence in scientific thinking and research planning, obtain specialized training in writing, and learn new areas of basic scientific inquiry and technology (e.g., translational research). Fellows also will be involved in teaching, presenting journal clubs and research seminars, and contributing to the general "ferment" that drives scientific progress. We expect that trainees who complete this program will become skilled in applying contemporary approaches to solve important problems in the microbiological sciences, and in improving preventive and/or therapeutic intervention strategies. U.T. Southwestern offers an outstanding research environment in which to continue this progressive training program in molecular microbiology. RELEVANCE (See instructions): The mission of this Molecular Microbiology Training Program (MMTP) is to provide the highest caliber of training to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in many areas of medical microbiology and infectious diseases that are germane to the health and well being of all residents of the United States and other countries throughout the world.